News

With strong support from Arran residents the South Arran Marine Protected Area was designated last year.

However, management of the area is still to be decided! Marine Scotland are proposing to allow damaging dredging and bottom trawling to continue in our MPA. This is not acceptable as damage will continue to our marine life.

COAST needs your help

The Government consultation on management will end next Monday (2nd Feb).To help ensure this damaging activity is prohibited within our MPA please write to or email Marine Scotland expressing your wish for this activity to stop. E-mails should be sent to Marine Scotland at:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.(please also copy us in:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and must include the short data protection waiver statement below.

COAST has had a phenomenal year with the designation of the South Arran Marine Protected Area, celebrating the sixth year of Scotland’s only No Take Zone and winning the Nature of Scotland Award (We were also finalists in the 2014 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards). We have continued with our research and begun a baseline study in the newly designated MPA. We have been inspired by the huge amount of support at our events with individuals of all ages getting involved in all the different activities. COAST could not have achieved all this without the contributions of volunteers, funders and supporters.

COAST would like to say a special thank you to our office volunteers Mathilda Evans, Amy Fairbairn and Matt Judge, our volunteer divers Angus Robson and Clair Youdale and all the volunteers who helped out at the various events. We truly appreciate all the hard work, enthusiasm and dedication of all those who have volunteered their skills, time and energy.

COAST is lucky enough to have received grants from a range of funders including The Kilfinan Trust, Arran Trust, North Ayrshire Council, The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, The Underwood Trust, the Van Neste Foundation and the The John Ellermen Foundation. COAST has also received many individual donations that we are extremely grateful for. All donations, big or small help COAST to make real change.

COAST is a community lead organisation first and foremost and it is only with the team work and support of the people of Arran that we can continue to achieve so much.

We would like to thank each and every person that contributed to the Community of the Arran Seabed Trust this year.

COAST and Fauna & Flora International (FFI)’s Marine Community Support Officer, Kerri Whiteside, has been busy travelling around the coast of Scotland, meeting with interested coastal communities and supporting them in having a stronger say on the protection of their local marine waters.

Kerri has been working with the community living on the remote island of Fair Isle, which sits between the Orkney Islands and mainland Shetland, and supporting the long-established Fair Isle Marine Environment and Tourism Initiative (FIMETI). FIMETI represents the interests

of the (circa fifty) locals living on the island and has been fighting for stricter protection of their local sea for two decades. Fair Isle has submitted a proposal for a Demonstration and Research MPA and awaits the announcement of the decision in the New Year.

Overnight, a new passenger joined us on board. One of the Atlantic's liminal flying fish, existing magically in the borders between air and sea, fetched up on deck – to the great delight of our master dissector Diana. A late night analysis of the creature’s stomach contents showed an all-natural last meal. There was no plastic visible under the microscope. The fish had fed on small shrimp and fish larvae, such as we had seen in our first manta trawl. It seems that this was a healthy fish, just a little too curious about life on board Sea Dragon.

Our day then proceeded to continue smoothly. The sun was shining and Sea Dragon was sailing wing-on-wing. This diamond sail combination makes a beautiful sight against the cool blue sky. At 1pm sharp it was time for our second manta trawl, which we accomplished smoothly in 1 hour 20 mins. Shanley assures us that this is a great time for our second attempt, and we are all pretty excited at the prospect of breaking some kind of record. We’re hoping to be down to 1 hour by the time we reach Martinique – let’s see if we’re up for the challenge!

After the storms of the past six days we had a beautiful Sunday morning with relatively calm seas, we got busy cleaning the boat, our laundry and ourselves.

Lucy made pancakes - a special treat for those on watch - they were so tasty to eat with maple syrup, papaya, lemon and sugar while watching the pink sunrise. We are all hoping that every morning can be as sweet a pancake morning, in the ocean, as this one.